Fan-out semiconductor chip assembly

ABSTRACT

A packaged semiconductor chip including the chip, and a package element such as a heat sink is made by connecting flexible leads between contacts on the chip and terminals on a dielectric element such as a sheet or plate and moving the sheet or plate away from the chip, and injecting a liquid material to form a compliant layer filling the space between the package element and the dielectric element, and surrounding the leads. The dielectric element and package element extend outwardly beyond the edges of the chip, and physically protect the chip. The assembly may be handled and mounted by conventional surface mounting techniques. The assembly may include additional circuit elements such as capacitors used in conjunction with the chip.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a division, of application Ser. No. 08/653,016, filed on May 24,1996 U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,716 which in turn is a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 08/440,665, filed May 15, 1995 U.S. Pat. No.5,801,441 which in turn is a divisional of application Ser. No.08/271,768, filed Jul. 7, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,964.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to semiconductor chip assemblies and tomethods and components useful in making such assemblies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Complex microelectronic devices such as modern semiconductor chipsrequire numerous connections to other electronic components. Forexample, a complex microprocessor chip may require many hundreds ofconnections to external devices.

Semiconductor chips commonly have been connected to electrical traces onmounting substrates by one of three methods: wire bonding, tapeautomated bonding, and flip-chip bonding. In wire bonding, thesemiconductor chip is positioned on a substrate with a bottom or backsurface of the chip abutting the substrate and with the contact-bearingfront or top surface of the chip facing upwardly, away from thesubstrate. Individual gold or aluminum wires are connected between thecontacts on the semiconductor chip and current conducting pads on thesubstrate. In tape automated bonding a flexible dielectric tape with aprefabricated array of leads thereon is positioned over thesemiconductor chip and substrate, and the individual leads are bonded tothe contacts on the chip and to the current conducting pads on thesubstrate. In both wire bonding and conventional tape automated bonding,the current conducting pads on the substrate are arranged outside of thearea covered by the semiconductor chip, so that the wires or leads fanout from the chip to the surrounding current conducting pads. The areacovered by the subassembly as a whole is considerably larger than thearea covered by the chip. This makes the entire assembly substantiallylarger than it otherwise would be. Because the speed with which amicroelectronic assembly can operate is inversely related to its size,this presents a serious drawback. Moreover, the wire bonding and tapeautomated bonding approaches are generally most workable withsemiconductor chips having contacts disposed in rows extending along theperiphery of the chip. They generally do not lend themselves to use withchips having contacts disposed in a so-called area array, i.e., agrid-like pattern covering all or a substantial portion of the chipfront surface.

In the flip-chip mounting technique, the contact bearing surface of thesemiconductor chip faces towards the substrate. Each contact on thesemiconductor chip is joined by a solder bond to the correspondingcurrent carrying pad on the substrate, as by positioning solder balls onthe substrate or contacts of the semiconductor chip, juxtaposing thechip with the substrate in the front-face-down orientation andmomentarily melting or reflowing the solder. The flip-chip techniqueyields a compact assembly, which occupies an area of the substrate nolarger than the area of the chip itself. However, flip-chip assembliessuffer from significant problems with thermal stress. The solder bondsbetween the contacts on the semiconductor chip and the current carryingpads on the substrate are substantially rigid. Changes in the size ofthe chip and of the substrate due to thermal expansion and contractionin service create substantial stresses in these rigid bonds, which inturn can lead to fatigue failure of the bonds. Moreover, it is difficultto test the semiconductor chip before attaching it to the substrate, andhence difficult to maintain the required outgoing quality level in thefinished assembly, particularly where the assembly includes numeroussemiconductor chips.

Numerous attempts have been made to solve the foregoing problem. Usefulsolutions are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,148,265and 5,148,266. Preferred embodiments of the structures disclosed inthese patents incorporate flexible, sheet-like structures referred to as“interposers” or “chip carriers.” The preferred chip carriers have aplurality of terminals disposed on a flexible, sheet-like top layer. Inuse, the interposer is disposed on the front or contact bearing surfaceof the chip with the terminals facing upwardly, away from the chip. Theterminals are then connected to the contacts of the chip. Mostpreferably, this connection is made by bonding prefabricated leads onthe interposer to the contacts on the semiconductor chip, using a toolengaged with the lead. The completed assembly is then connected to asubstrate, as by bonding the terminals of the chip carrier to thesubstrate. Because the leads and the dielectric layer of the chipcarrier are flexible, the terminals on the chip carrier can moverelative to the contacts on the semiconductor chip without imposingsignificant stresses on the bonds between the leads and the contacts onthe semiconductor chip, or on the bonds between the terminals of thechip carrier and the substrate. Thus, the assembly can compensate forthermal effects. Moreover, the assembly most preferably includes acompliant layer disposed between the terminals on the chip carrier andthe face of the semiconductor chip itself as, for example, anelastomeric layer incorporated in the chip carrier and disposed betweenthe dielectric layer of the chip carrier and the semiconductor chip.Such a compliant structure permits displacement of the individualterminals independently towards the chip, and also facilitates movementof the terminals relative to the chip in directions parallel to the chipsurface. The compliant structure further enhances the resistance of theassembly to thermal stresses during use, and facilitates engagementbetween the subassembly and a test fixture during manufacture. Thus, atest fixture incorporating numerous electrical contacts can be engagedwith all of the terminals in the subassembly despite minor variations inthe height of the terminals. The subassembly can be tested before it isbonded to a substrate so as to provide a tested, known, good part to thesubstrate assembly operation. This in turn provides very substantialeconomic and quality advantages.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,390 describes a further improvement. Componentsaccording to preferred embodiments of the '390 patent use a flexible,dielectric top sheet. A plurality of terminals are mounted on the topsheet. A support layer is disposed underneath the top sheet, the supportlayer having a bottom surface remote from the top sheet. A plurality ofelectrically conductive, elongated leads are connected to the terminalson the top sheet and extend generally side by side downwardly from theterminals through the support layer. Each lead has a lower end at thebottom surface of the support layer. The lower ends of the leads haveconductive bonding materials as, for example, eutectic bonding metals.The support layer surrounds and supports the leads.

Components of this type can be connected to microelectronic elementssuch as semiconductor chips or wafers by juxtaposing the bottom surfaceof the support layer with the contact-bearing surface of thesemiconductor chip so as to bring the lower ends of the leads intoengagement with the contacts on the chip, and then subjecting theassembly to elevated temperature and pressure conditions. All of thelower ends of the leads bond to the contacts on the semiconductor chipsubstantially simultaneously. The bonded leads connect the terminals ofthe top sheet with the contacts on the semiconductor chip. The supportlayer desirably is either formed from a relatively low-modulus,compliant material, or else is removed and replaced after the leadbonding step with such a compliant material. In the finished assembly,the terminals on the relatively flexible dielectric top sheet desirablyare movable with respect to the contacts on the semiconductor chip topermit testing and to compensate for thermal effects. However, thecomponents and methods of the '390 patent provide further advantages,including the ability to make all of the bonds to the chip or othercomponent in a single lamination-like process step.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,964, issued on U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/271,768, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein, discloses still further improvements. Preferred methodsaccording to the '964 Patent include the steps of providing a dielectricconnection component or first element having a plurality of terminals, afirst surface and a plurality of elongated, flexible leads extendingalong the first surface, each such lead having a terminal end attachedto one of the terminals and a tip end offset from the terminal end in agenerally horizontal direction parallel to the first surface. Desirably,the tip ends of all the leads are attached to an associated one of thecontacts on a second element, such as a microelectronic device. Thepreferred methods also include the step of simultaneously forming all ofthe leads by moving all of the tip ends of the leads relative to theterminal ends thereof and relative to the first element so as to bendthe tip ends away from the first element. Desirably the step of movingthe tip ends of the respective leads relative to their terminal endsincludes the step of moving the second element relative to the firstelement. The first and second elements desirably move in a verticaldirection, away from one another, and may also move in horizontaldirections parallel to the surfaces of the elements so as to bend thetip end of each lead horizontally towards its own terminal end andvertically away from the terminal end. The net effect is to deform theleads towards formed positions in which the leads extend generallyvertically downwardly, away from the first element. These methods mayalso include the step of injecting a flowable, desirably compliantdielectric material around the leads after the lead-forming step andthen curing the flowable material so as to form a dielectric supportlayer around the leads.

In particularly preferred methods according to the '964 Patentapplication, one element is a flexible, dielectric top sheet havingterminal structures thereon, and the other element includes one or moresemiconductor chips. The resulting assembly thus includes the dielectrictop sheet with the terminal structures connected to the associatedcontacts of the semiconductor chip or chips by the vertically-extending,curved flexible leads, the dielectric top sheet being spaced apart fromthe semiconductor chip or chips by the dielectric support layer. Theterminal structures can be connected to a substrate such as a circuitpanel to thereby provide electrical current communication to thecontacts on the semiconductor chip or chips. Each terminal structure onthe dielectric top sheet is movable with respect to the contacts in thesemiconductor chip in horizontal directions parallel to the chip, aswell as in vertical directions towards and away from the chip, to takeup differences in thermal expansion between the chip and substrate andto facilitate testing and assembly.

The step of attaching the tip ends of the leads to the second elementdesirably includes the step of bonding the tip ends of the leads to thecontacts on the semiconductor chip or chips while the leads are in theirinitial, undeformed positions. For example, a dielectric sheet havingthe leads disposed in generally horizontal orientation on its bottomsurface may be juxtaposed with a chip or wafer so that the tip ends ofthe leads are engaged with the contacts of the chip or wafer. Thus, allof the tip ends are bonded simultaneously to the chip contacts. A singlesimultaneous bonding operation may bond hundreds or thousands of leads.Because the leads are in their initial, undeformed positions when bondedto the contacts, the positions of the lead tips are well controlled atthis stage. Preferably, the tip ends of the leads are releasably bondedto the dielectric top sheet. This facilitates registration of the leadtips contacts on the semiconductor chips. As the top sheet is movedupwardly away from the chip or wafer, the tip ends of the leads arereleased from the top sheet. The '964 Patent also discloses otherprocesses, including processes in which the leads are initially attachedto the chip or wafer, and wherein the chip or wafer is engaged withdielectric sheet or other element having contacts thereon and the tipends of the leads are bonded to the contacts. Although the teachings ofthe '964 Patent can be applied in manufacture of many differentproducts, one product taught in the '964 Patent is a so-called “chipsize package”. The finished assembly, with the top sheet, terminals andcompliant dielectric support layer, can be mounted within an area of asubstrate substantially the same as that required to mount the chipitself.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention provides methods of makingsemiconductor chip assemblies which incorporate the chips together withauxiliary elements, referred to herein as “package” elements, such asheat sinks or auxiliary electrical devices. Desirably, the assembly is aunitary assembly ready for connection to a larger substrate. Preferredmethods according to this aspect of the present invention may includethe steps of providing a subassembly including a semiconductor chip witha front surface having contacts thereon and a package element secured inposition relative to the chip so that the front surface of the chipfaces in a forward or upward direction relative to the package elementand so that peripheral portions of the package element project outwardlyaway from the chip in horizontal directions generally parallel to thefront face of the chip. The method further includes the step ofproviding a dielectric element in the form of a plate or, preferably inthe form of a thin, flexible sheet having top and bottom surfaces andterminals on the top surface and positioning the dielectric element tooverlie the subassembly with the top surface and terminals facing awayfrom the subassembly, with the central region of the dielectric elementbeing disposed adjacent to the chip and preferably overlying the chipand with a peripheral region of the dielectric element carrying at leastsome of the terminals overlying a peripheral region of the packageelement. The method also includes the step of providing first leadselectrically connected between the contacts of the chip and theterminals on the dielectric element, the first leads having one endattached to the dielectric element and the other end attached to thechip, and then moving the dielectric element and subassembly relative toone another through a predetermined displacement so that the dielectricelement moves with a vertical component of motion away from thesubassembly and so that the first leads bent to a vertically extensiveorientation in which first lead is flexible, and, curved in verticaldirections.

The steps of providing the first leads, connecting them between the chipand the dielectric element may be performed by substantially the samemethods as disclosed in the '964 Patent. Thus, the first leads may becarried on the chip or, preferably, on the dielectric element, and eachsuch first lead may have a terminal end permanently bonded to thedielectric element and tip end releasably attached thereto. The tip endsmay be bonded to the contacts on the chip by juxtaposing the dielectricelement with the chip under heat and pressure, so that all of the tipleads are bonded to the chip contacts simultaneously. Preferably, thetip ends of the leads are releasably bonded to the dielectric elementand these releasable bonds are detached during relative movement of thedielectric element and subassembly. The preferred method furtherincludes the step of injecting a curable liquid between the dielectricelement and the subassembly and curing the liquid to form a compliantlayer supporting the dielectric element above the subassembly. Theliquid may be injected under pressure, and the pressure of the liquidmay force the dielectric element and subassembly away from one another.

Most preferably, the step of providing the subassembly includes the stepof providing at least one peripheral support element disposed alongsideof the chip in a peripheral region of the package element, theperipheral support element defining a front face facing codirectionallywith the front face of the chip. Most preferably, the front face of thepackage element is substantially coplanar with the front face of thechip. The dielectric element overlies the front face of the peripheralsupport element or elements. Where the central region of the dielectricelement overlies the front face of the chip, the portions of thecompliant layer formed between the front face of the chip and thecentral region of the sheet will have substantially the same thicknessas those portions of the compliant layer disposed between the peripheralregions of the sheet and the peripheral support elements. This assuresthat those portions of the compliant layer underlying each terminal willhave substantially uniform resilient properties, further facilitatingtesting of the assembly and connection of the assembly to a largersubstrate such as a circuit panel or multichip module.

Most preferably, the package element includes a heat sink, such as ametallic plate or vessel, and the heat sink is bonded to a back surfaceof the chip prior to the step of moving the sheet relative to thesubassembly. The package element, and particularly the peripheralsupport elements included in the package element, desirably include atleast one electrical circuit element. Most preferably, the methodfurther includes the step of connecting each such electrical circuitelement in circuit with the chip as by connecting the circuit element tosome of the first leads. For example, the peripheral support elementsmay include capacitors, and the capacitors may be connected into thecircuit with the power and/or ground connections of the chip. Mostdesirably, the dielectric element has conductors thereon extending fromat least some of the first leads to the peripheral region. The step ofconnecting the circuit element to the first leads may include the stepof providing second leads disposed between the peripheral region of thedielectric element and the circuit elements and connecting the secondleads between the circuit elements and at least some of the horizontalconductors before the moving step. Thus, the second leads bend alongwith the first leads during the moving step.

Most preferably, where the dielectric element is a flexible sheet, themethod further includes the step of bringing all of the terminals on thetop surface of the sheet to a common plane by engaging the terminalswith a fixture and forcing the terminals into substantially coplanardisposition during thereafter injection of the curable liquid, but priorto completion of its cure.

Further aspects of the present invention provide semiconductor chipassemblies. The preferred assemblies according to this aspect of thepresent invention include a subassembly incorporating a semiconductorchip having a front surface with contacts thereon and a package elementattached to the chip, the package element having a central regionadjacent to the chip and a peripheral region extending outwardly, awayfrom the chip in horizontal directions generally parallel to the frontface of the chip. The assembly further includes a dielectric elementsuch as a flexible dielectric sheet overlying the subassembly. Thedielectric element includes a central region overlying the centralregion of the package element adjacent to the chip, and preferably,overlying the chip as well. The dielectric element also includes aperipheral region overlying the peripheral region of the package elementand extending outwardly from the central region of the sheet. Thedielectric element has a top surface facing away from the subassembly ofthe chip and package element and a bottom surface facing toward thesubassembly. Electrically conductive terminals are disposed on the topsurface of the sheet. Preferably, at least some of the terminals aredisposed in the peripheral region of the dielectric element and overliethe peripheral region of the package element. Thus, the terminals “fanout” in horizontal directions away from the chip. The dielectric elementpreferably is substantially imperforate in the central region of thesheet adjacent to the chip and overlying the chip.

The assembly further includes a compliant layer disposed between thesubassembly of the chip and the package element and the dielectricsheet, so that the compliant layer supports the dielectric element abovethe subassembly. The assembly also includes vertically extensiveflexible first leads embedded in the compliant layer and extendingupwardly from the contacts on the chip to the central region of thedielectric element, the flexible leads being electrically connectedbetween the chip contacts and the terminals on the dielectric element.More preferably, the package element incorporated in the assemblyincludes a heat sink such as a metallic, heat conductive element whichalso provides some physical protection to the chip as well as one ormore electrical circuit elements such as capacitors. As discussed abovein connection with the method, the electrical circuit elements may beconnected in circuit with the chip through horizontal conductors on thedielectric element and, preferably, through second leads extendingbetween the circuit elements and the dielectric element.

Preferred assemblies according to this aspect of the present inventionprovide a unitary package including the chip along with auxiliarycircuit elements, which can be handled and installed using conventionalsurface mounting techniques. Because the terminals are “fanned out” anddistributed over the peripheral region of the sheet, and preferably, onthe central region of the dielectric element as well, the terminals arewidely spaced for ease of mounting to the substrate. Although thepackage as a whole occupies a larger surface area of the substrate thanwould be occupied by the chip alone, the extra occupied space is notwasted; it is occupied by the auxiliary circuit element which would berequired in any event for proper operation of the chip. The entirepackage can be handled as a unit, thereby simplifying distribution andassembly of the various components to the ultimate substrate. Thepackage also provides good resistance to thermal stress and/ordifferential expansion and contraction of the substrate and the chip.Furthermore, the most preferred assemblies can be readily tested and canbe mounted to a substrate even where the substrate has a coefficient ofthermal expansion widely different from that of the chip and/or wherethe substrate is warped.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention would be more readily apparent from the detailed descriptionset forth below, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a subassembly used in aprocess according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a further diagrammatic sectional view depicting thesubassembly of FIG. 1 in conjunction with other components during alater stage of the process.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view on an enlarged scale depicting aportion of the elements shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but depicting the elements at alater stage during the process.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view on an enlarged scale similar to FIG. 3,but depicting the components at the stage of the process illustrated inFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic sectional view depicting the subassemblyproduced in the method of FIGS. 1-5.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of components illustrated in FIGS.1-6, with portions removed for clarity of illustration.

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view depicting a component used in afurther process according to the invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken in FIG. 8, but showing thecomponent in conjunction with a semiconductor chip.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view depicting the completed assembly made by theprocess according to FIGS. 8-9.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 but depicting a further embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic plan view depicting components used in aprocess according to a further embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along lines 13—13 in FIG. 12, thecomponents of FIG. 12 in conjunction with further components used in theprocess.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 13 but depicting thecomponents during a later stage of the process.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic sectional view depicting yet anotherembodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A process in accordance with one embodiment of the present inventionutilizes a semiconductor chip 20 having a front surface 22 with contacts24 thereon and having an oppositely facing rear surface 24. Theparticular chip 20 illustrated in FIG. 1 has the contacts 24 disposed inan “area array”, i.e., an array covering substantially the entire frontsurface of the chip, with the contacts being uniformly spaced within thearray. However, other types of chips may be used as, for example, chipshaving contacts disposed in rows adjacent the peripheral edges of thechip. Chip 20 is assembled with a composite package element 30 includinga heat sink 26 and capacitors 32. Heat sink 26 is in the form of an openshell having a base wall 34, an edge wall 36 projecting from the basewall around the periphery thereof and a flange at the extremity of thebase wall defining a generally planar flange surface 28 remote from thebase wall. The auxiliary circuit elements or capacitors 32 are formed asgenerally rectilinear blocks each having a front surface 38 withterminals 40 thereon and a rear surface 42 facing oppositely from thefront surface. As best seen in FIGS. 1, 2, and 7 circuit elements orcapacitors 32 are disposed in a ring-like array adjacent the flange 28and peripheral wall 36 of the heat sink. The front surfaces 38 of thecapacitors or auxiliary circuit elements 32 are substantially coplanarwith another and substantially with the flange surface 28 of the heatsink. The rear surfaces 42 of the circuits element 38 are bonded to thebase wall 34 of the heat sink by a thermally conductive adhesive layer44. Adhesive layer 44 may include any of the well-known thermallyconductive adhesive compositions, such as an epoxy loaded with metallicparticles.

Semiconductor chip 20 is disposed in the center of the ringlike array ofcircuit elements. The rear face 24 of the chip is bonded to the basewall 34 of the heat sink by a further layer of thermally conductiveepoxy 44. The thickness or front to rear face dimension of chip 20 isthe same as the corresponding dimensions of the auxiliary circuitelements or capacitor 38. The front face 22 of chip 20 is substantiallycoplanar with the front faces 38 of the auxiliary circuit elements orcapacitor 32 and with the flange 28 of the heat sink. As used in thisdisclosure, the term “substantially coplanar” means that the surfacesare coplanar with one another to within about 125 microns or less.Although gaps are shown between adjacent edges of the chip and auxiliarycircuit elements 32, and between the various auxiliary circuit elements,it should be appreciated that the size of these gaps is exaggerated inthe drawings for clarity of illustration. Preferably, the variouscomponents are separated from one another by horizontal distances of nomore than about 0.5 mm. The auxiliary circuit elements and the chip arepositioned precisely on the heat sink relative to one another, so thatthe terminals 40 of the auxiliary circuit elements lie in predeterminedspatial relationship to the terminals 24 of the chip. As discussedbelow, the contacts 40 of the auxiliary circuit elements 32 areconnected to leads in a common process with the contacts 24 of the chip,and the predetermined spatial relationship should be maintained tofacilitate simultaneous connection of all of these contacts. The degreeof accuracy with which the auxiliary circuit elements must be positionedrelative to the chip is inversely related to the size of the contacts onthe auxiliary circuit elements. Typically, the auxiliary circuitelements require fewer contacts than the chip itself and possesssubstantial front-surface area over which the contacts can bedistributed. Thus, the contacts 40 on the auxiliary circuit elements maybe substantially larger than the contacts 24 on the chip.

In the next stage of the process, the subassembly 50, shown in FIG. 2,including the auxiliary circuit elements, heat sink and chip isjuxtaposed with a flexible, sheetlike dielectric element 52. Thedielectric element 52 includes a dielectric body incorporating one ormore layers of a flexible, but substantially inextensable dielectricmaterial. These flexible layers may include thin sheets of polyimide,typically having an aggregate thickness of about 25 microns (0.001inch). Dielectric sheet 52 has a top surface 54 and a bottom surface 56.The sheet has a central region 57 overlying the chip, and a peripheralregion 59 surrounding the central region. Electrically conductivemetallic terminals 58 are distributed substantially uniformly over theentire area of the top surface, including the central region and theperipheral region. As best seen in FIG. 3, the terminals 58 are formedas the upper extremities of metal-lined vias extending vertically withinthe dielectric element 52. The dielectric element further has firstleads 60 extending along the bottom surface 56 in central region 57, andsecond leads 64 extending along the bottom surface 56 in a peripheralregion 59. The dielectric sheet also has conductors 66 extendinghorizontally along the sheet. The conductors may extend on the topsurface 54, on the bottom surface 56, or between the surfaces.

Each first lead 62 has a terminal end 68 (FIG. 3) permanently attachedto the bottom of sheet 52 and a tip end 70 remote from such terminal endreleasably attached to the bottom surface of the sheet. The permanentattachment may be constituted by a metallurgical bond between theterminal ends 68 and the vias 60 extending through the sheet or into thesheet from the bottom surface 56. The structure of these leads may bethe same as described in the aforementioned '964 Patent. Merely by wayof example, leads 62 may have curved sections extending between the tipends and the terminal ends. The second leads 64, in peripheral region59, have a generally similar configuration. Thus, each such second leadhas a terminal end 72 permanently attached to the sheet and a tip end 74releasably attached to the sheet bottom surface 56. Each of the tip ends70 and 74 may have bonding material thereon. The bonding materials maybe eutectic bonding alloys or other materials which can be captivatedupon exposure to elevated temperature and which form a solid bond withthe leads and contacts. For example, where the lead tip ends and thechip contacts include gold, the bonding material may include tin siliconor alloys thereof with gold. Many other bonding materials are describedin the '964 Patent, and can be used in the present invention.

The terminals 58, first leads 62, and second leads 64 are electricallyinterconnected with one another. Some or all of the first leads 62 areelectrically connected to terminals 58 by vias 60 and by conductors 66on the sheet. Some of the terminals, such as terminal 58 a disposed inthe central region of the sheet may be directly connected to theterminal ends of first leads, such as lead 62 a, whereas other terminals58 b disposed in the peripheral region of the sheet are connected to theterminal ends of the associated leads by conductors 66 and one or moreof the vias 60. The terminal ends 72 of the second leads may beconnected to certain conductors 66. Some of the conductors thusinterconnect the terminal end of a first lead 62 with the terminal endof a second lead 64. Others of the terminal ends of the second leads 64can be connected to other terminals 58.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, sheet 58 is juxtaposed with subassembly50 by holding the sheet on an upper tool or platen 80, holding thesubassembly 50 in a lower tool or platen 82 and aligning the two toolsso that the tip ends 70 of first leads 62 are aligned with the contacts24 of the chip and so that the tip ends 74 of the second leads 64 arealigned with the contacts 40 of the auxiliary circuit elements orcapacitors 32. The sheet and subassembly may be held in a position onthe tools during this process by any convenient mechanical method as,for example, by vacuum ports 86 in the tools, or by temporarily bondingthe sheet and/or the heat sink to their respective tools. Preferably,the upper tool 80 is transparent, or includes a transparent window, sothat the dielectric sheet can be aligned with the chip under manual,visual control or by automated vision systems. The techniques used foraligning the sheet with the subassembly may be similar to those used foraligning elements as described in the '964 Patent. Provided that therelative positions of the auxiliary circuit elements or capacitors 32and chip 20 are controlled as discussed above during formation of thesubassembly, the tip ends or the leads can be aligned with theassociated contacts on the chip and auxiliary circuit elementssimultaneously. Where the contacts 40 on the auxiliary circuit elementsare larger than the contacts 24 on the chip, the alignment can becontrolled so as to precisely match the positions of the first lead tipends 70 with the chip contacts 24. Even if the auxiliary circuitelements are slightly out of nominal position relative to the chip, thetip ends 74 of the second leads 64 will still be aligned with therelatively large contacts on these elements.

Tools 80 and 82 are forced together so as to force all of the tip endsof the leads into engagement with the associated contacts, and heat isapplied so as to activate the bonding material on the tip ends of theleads, thereby fusing the tip ends of the lead to the contacts 24 and 40on the chip and on the auxiliary circuit element. The space between thesubassembly and sheet is substantially evacuated. Tools 80 and 82 may beprovided with suitable seals around their peripheries (not shown) andsuitable ports for connecting the space between the sheet andsubassembly to a vacuum source to accomplish such evacuation. In thenext stage of the process (FIGS. 4 and 5), sheet 52 and subassembly 50are moved vertically away from one another by moving tool 80 verticallyaway from tool 82. During this stage of the process, the subassembly andsheet are held in engagement with tools 80 and 82, as by vacuum appliedthrough ports 86 or by other suitable means. During the moving step, acurable liquid 90 adapted to form a compliant material upon curing suchas a liquid precursor adapted to form a silicone gel upon curing isinjected under pressure into the space between the sheet and thesubassembly. The pressure of liquid 90 also tends to force sheet 52upwardly against tool 80 and thereby tends to force the terminals 58into engagement with the planar surface 81 of the tool. Stated anotherway, the contacts 58 are forcibly moved into coplanar alignment with oneanother by the fluid pressure.

As the sheet moves upwardly, away from the subassembly 50, the tip ends70 and 74 of the leads remain in place on the chip contacts 24 andcircuit element contacts 40, so that the tip ends become detached fromthe bottom surface 56 of sheet 52. The terminal ends 68 and 72 of theleads remain attached to the bottom surface of the sheet. Thus, all ofthe first leads 62 and all of the second leads 64 are bent upwardly,into vertically extensive, generally S-shaped curved configurations asshown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As used in this disclosure, the term “verticallyextensive” means that the leads have substantial extent in the verticaldirection, transverse to the front surface 22 of the chip and alsotransverse to the planar front surfaces 38 and 28 of the packageelement. Even after the moving step, however, the leads continue to havesubstantial horizontal extent as well. In the bent configuration, all ofthe leads have substantial flexibility in all directions. That is, theterminal end of each lead is free to move in horizontal and verticaldirections relative to the tip end of the lead.

The injected liquid 90 forms a compliant layer 94 (of FIG. 6) betweenassembly 50 and dielectric sheet 52. The thickness of the compliantlayer is greatly exaggerated in the drawings for clarity ofillustration. In practice, the thickness of the compliant layer isbetween about 0.05 and about 2.0 mm, and more preferably between about0.75 and about 0.5 mm. Because surfaces 38 and 28 of the auxiliarycircuit elements and the heat sink are substantially coplanar with thefront surface 22 of chip 20, those portions of the compliant layerdisposed between the peripheral region 59 of the sheet and the auxiliarycircuit element or flange, has substantially the same thickness as thoseportions disposed between the central region 57 of the sheet and thechip. Thus, the dielectric layer supports all of terminals 58 above thesubassembly 50 with substantially the same resilient properties andspring constant. The dielectric layer 94 decouples sheet 52 fromassembly 50 and hence allows movement of the sheet and terminals in alldirections relative to the subassembly.

After curing, the edges of sheet 52 and any excess compliant materialcan be trimmed away from the assembly. The resulting assembly can betested by engaging all of the terminals 50 with terminals on a testfixture (not shown). The compliant layer facilitates such engagement.The assembly can be assembled to a substrate 96 (FIG. 6) such as acircuit panel having contact pads 98 thereon as by interposing soldermasses 100 between terminals 58 and the contact pads and sattering theassembly in place. This operation may be performed using standardsurface mount soldering techniques.

As schematically depicted in FIG. 7, some of the terminals 58(schematically denoted by the symbol “x”) are interconnected by theconductors 66 with the terminals 40 of auxiliary circuit elements orcapacitors 32, and the terminals 40 of the auxiliary circuit elementsare also connected to the contacts 24 of the chip by other conductors 66on the sheet. Thus, the auxiliary circuit elements are connected incircuit with the chip. As is well-known in the art, such auxiliarycircuit elements typically are connected into the circuit at the powerand ground connections of a semiconductor chip. Thus, the particularterminals 58, connected to the contact 40 of the auxiliary circuitelement are connected to the power and ground connections of substrate96 and to the power and ground connections of the chip. The otherterminals 58 typically are employed for signal connections to the chip.

Numerous variations and combinations of the features described above canbe utilized. In one such variation, chip 22 and each of the auxiliarycircuit elements 38 can be attached separately to sheet 52. The contactson the chip 20 are aligned with the tip ends of the first leads 62 andthe chip is engaged with the sheet while applying heat and pressure. Thecontacts of each auxiliary circuit element 32 are aligned with the tipends of second leads 64 and bonded thereto in a separate operation. Aprocess for engaging plural elements separately with a dielectric sheetis described in detail in copending, commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/532,528, filed Sep. 25, 1995, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference herein. After all of theelements have been attached to the sheet and the contacts of therespective elements have been bonded to the tip ends of the respectiveleads, the back surfaces of the various elements may be bonded to theheat sink 26. Stated another way, the subassembly of the chip with theheat sink and auxiliary circuit elements can be formed in place on thedielectric sheet after the chip and auxiliary circuit elements have beenattached to the tip ends of the leads. In a further variant, theauxiliary circuit elements may be omitted and hence the subassembly ofthe chip and the package element may consist only of the chip and heatsink. In yet another variation, all of the auxiliary circuit elements orcapacitors 32 may be formed as a unitary ring-like element.Alternatively or additionally, the package element may include one ormore inert blocks or rings having no electrical function, but whichserve solely to surround the chip and support the compliant layer anddielectric layer in the finished package. According to yet anothervariant, the auxiliary electrical circuit elements may include one ormore additional chips which are connected in circuit with the principalchip by the conductors on the dielectric element. In this variant, theassembly constitutes a multichip module. In yet another variant, aplurality of assemblies may be formed simultaneously by using aplurality of chips and a plurality of package elements, and a dielectricelement large enough to cover all of the chips and package elements.After connecting each chip to the overlying region of the largedielectric element by leads as discussed above, the dielectric elementis moved relative to the chips and package elements, and the liquidmaterial is injected to form a large compliant layer. The dielectricelement and compliant layer are severed to provide individual modules,each including one chip or a few chips and the associated packageelement. In a further variant of this approach, the package element mayalso be a large element, such as a continuous plate. The plate may becut during the severing step to provide individual package elements,each associated with one module.

In yet another variant, the dielectric sheet 152 (FIG. 8) has elongatedapertures merging with one another to form a continuous slot 153surrounding an island portion 155 within the central region 157 of thesheet, and subdividing portion 155 from the remainder of the sheet. Thefirst leads 162 are disposed in rows extending across slot 153. Theleads within each row extend generally parallel to one another. One endof each lead is disposed on island portion 155, whereas the opposite endof each lead 162 is disposed on the main portion of the sheet. Each leadincludes a frangible region 163 aligned with or adjacent to slot 153.The lead structures used in this arrangement may be substantially asshown and described in International Patent Publication WO 94/03036, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Thesheet bears terminals 158 on its top surface, in the peripheral regionof the sheet. These terminals are connected by conductors 160 to leads162. A chip 120 has contacts 124 disposed in rows on the front face ofthe chip, adjacent to the edges of the chip.

In an assembly process, the chip is aligned with the sheet so that eachrow of contacts is aligned with a portion of slot 153 and with one rowof leads 162. Each lead is bonded to a contact on the chip by engagingthe lead with a bonding tool and forcing the lead downwardly, into slot153, in the manner taught in the '036 publication. The downward movementbreaks the frangible section of each lead and detaches the end of thelead from the island region 155 of the sheet. When all of the leads havebeen connected to the chip in this manner, the island region of thesheet is disconnected from the remainder of the sheet, and can be liftedaway from the remainder of the sheet, leaving a hole in the centralregion of the sheet. A package element such as a heat sink 126 isattached to the back surface of the chip, thus forming a subassembly ofthe chip and package element. Using procedures similar to thosediscussed above, the dielectric sheet 152 is then moved upwardly, awayfrom the subassembly, thereby bending leads 162 into a morevertically-extensive orientation shown in FIG. 10. A front-surface heatsink 164 may be positioned on the front surface of the chip, in the holepreviously occupied by island region 155. A liquid precursor adapted toform a compliant material is injected between the package element andsheet, thereby forming a compliant layer 190 between the sheet and thepackage element.

In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the package element or heat sink 126′ is aflat plate, without flanges. In other respects, this embodiment is thesame as that of FIG. 10.

Methods and assemblies as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 8-11may incorporate features as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1-7.For example, the package element used in the embodiment of FIGS. 8-10may incorporate auxiliary circuit elements similar to those used in theembodiment of FIGS. 1-7. In this case, the dielectric element may beprovided with second leads in the peripheral area for connection to theauxiliary circuit element. Also, in the embodiment of FIGS. 8-10, theisland region 155 may be provided with terminals and may remain as partof the finished assembly. Where island region 155 is to remain, the slot153 need not extend entirely around the island region. Also, apertureshaving form other than the slot-like aperture 153 may be employed. Forexample, each lead may extend over a small circular hole, and an arrayof such holes and leads may be provided in the central region of thedielectric sheet.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the package elementmay include a rigid ring 250 (FIGS. 12-14) having a front face 228 and arear face 229. The ring has a central opening 231 and several auxiliaryopenings 233 in the peripheral region of the ring. Electrical circuitelements such as capacitors 232 are disposed in the auxiliary openings,and a chip 220 is disposed in the central opening of the ring. The chipcontacts are bonded to the ends of first leads 262 on the bottom surface256 of a flexible sheetlike dielectric element 252. Here again, the endsof the first leads which are bonded to the chip contacts are releasablyattached to the bottom surface of the dielectric element. First leads262 are connected to terminals 258 on the top surface 254 of thedielectric element by horizontal conductors 266 extending withindielectric element 252. The contacts of circuit elements 232 areconnected to some of the horizontal conductors 266, and thus areconnected to the chip and terminals, by connecting the contacts to vias267 extending between the horizontal conductors and the bottom surfaceof the dielectric element. The contacts on elements 232 are directlybonded to the vias, using a conventional conductive bonding materialsuch as solder, a eutectic bonding alloy or a diffusion bonding alloy.Because vias 267 are fixed to dielectric element 252, the connectionbetween the contacts of the circuit elements and the vias permanentlyattaches circuit elements 232 to the bottom surface of the dielectricelement.

In the assembly process, the rear surface 229 of the ring and the rearsurface of chip 220 are held in engagement with a tool 282, as by vacuumapplied through ports in the tool, by a temporary adhesive, or byappropriate grips or clamps (not shown). The tool thus holds the chipand ring in fixed position relative to one another. The dielectricelement 252 is engaged with another tool 280. A liquid material isinjected under pressure between the dielectric element and thesubassembly of the chip and ring, and tools 280 and 282 are moved awayfrom one another. In the manner discussed above, the first leads 262 arepartially detached from the bottom surface of the dielectric element andare bent so that the bent leads extend vertically as well ashorizontally. In this bent condition, leads 262 are flexible. When thedielectric element moves away from the chip and ring, circuit elements232 move with the dielectric element. The injected liquid material iscured to form a compliant dielectric layer 290. Thus, in the assembly ofFIG. 14, the compliant dielectric material extends between the circuitelements 232 and the package element or ring 250. The assembly may besecured to a substrate by bonding terminals 258 to the contact pads ofthe substrate. Optionally, a protective cover or heat sink may be placedonto the rear surface 229 of the ring, and onto the rear surface of chip220.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the dielectric element 352(FIG. 15) is a substantially rigid, substantially imperforate dielectricplate formed from a ceramic material. As used in this disclosure withreference to a dielectric element, the term “substantially imperforate”means that at least the central region of the dielectric elementoverlying the chip 320 is devoid of holes extending between the topsurface 354 and the bottom surface 356, or that any holes extendingbetween the top and bottom surfaces are filled by via liners or otherconductive elements. Because plate 352 is substantially imperforate, itshields the chip and the associated flexible leads 362 extending betweenthe chip and the dielectric element. As in the embodiments discussedabove, the dielectric element has terminals 358 disposed on the topsurface 354 (the surface facing away from chip 320). These terminals arearranged in a “fan-out” pattern, so that the terminals are disposed inthe peripheral region of the dielectric element, outside of the centralregion aligned with the chip. The terminals are connected to the chipcontacts through flexible leads 362 and horizontal conductors extendingwithin plate 352, on the surfaces of the plate, or both. The packageelement includes a metallic plate heat spreader 350 secured to the rearsurface of the chip by a thermally conductive adhesive 351. Plate 350extends parallel to plate 352, with the chip disposed therebetween, andwith a compliant dielectric layer 390 filling the remaining spacebetween the plates and intimately surrounding flexible leads 362. Theplates and the dielectric layer cooperatively protect the chip. Theassembly can be handled and mounted readily using conventional surfacemounting techniques. Thus, terminals 358 may be provided with bondingmaterials such as solder balls. As depicted in FIG. 15, the assembly ismounted to a substrate 370, with terminals 358 bonded to contact pads359 on the substrate by conventional bonds such as solder masses.Substrate 370 desirably has a coefficient of thermal expansion closelymatched to the coefficient of thermal expansion of plate 352, so as tominimize differential thermal expansion of these elements. The flexibleleads 362 compensate for differential thermal expansion or movementbetween chip 320 and plate 352.

Assemblies as depicted in FIG. 15 can be fabricated by processes similarto those discussed above, with the rigid plate dielectric elementsubstituted in place of the flexible sheetlike dielectric elementsillustrated in FIGS. 1-14. According to other embodiments of theinvention, the rigid dielectric element can be formed from materialsother than ceramics. For example, fiber-reinforced polymer circuitpanels such as glass fiber reinforced epoxy circuit panels may beemployed. One suitable type of fiber reinforced panel is commonlyreferred to as “FR-4”.

These and other variations and combinations of the features discussedabove can be utilized without departing from the present invention asdefined by the claims. Accordingly, the forgoing description of thepreferred embodiment should be taken by way of illustration rather thanby way of limitation of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor chip assembly comprising: (a) asubassembly including a semiconductor chip having a front surface withcontacts thereon and a package element having a central region attachedto the chip and a peripheral region extending outwardly away from thechip in horizontal directions generally parallel to the front face ofthe chip; (b) a substantially imperforate dielectric clement overlyingthe subassembly, said dielectric element including a central regionoverlying the central region of the package element adjacent the chip,and a peripheral region extending outwardly from the central region ofsaid dielectric element and overlying the peripheral region of thepackage element, said dielectric element having a top surface facingaway from the subassembly and a bottom surface facing toward thesubassembly and electrically conductive terminals on the top surface, atleast some of the terminals being disposed in said peripheral region ofsaid dielectric element; (c) a compliant layer disposed between thesubassembly and dielectric element and supporting the dielectric elementabove the subassembly; and (d) vertically-extensive flexible first leadsembedded in said compliant layer and extending upwardly from thecontacts on the chip to the central region of the dielectric element,the flexible leads being electrically connected to the terminals.
 2. Anassembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said dielectric element is aflexible dielectric sheet.
 3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2 whereinsaid peripheral portion of said package element defines a substantiallyplanar front surface facing toward the dielectric element, and whereinsaid compliant layer is of substantially uniform thickness beneath theperipheral region of the dielectric element.
 4. An assembly as claimedin claim 3 wherein the central region of the dielectric element overliesthe front face of the chip, wherein said front surface of said chip issubstantially coplanar with said front surface of the package element,and the compliant layer is of substantially uniform thickness beneaththe central and peripheral regions of the dielectric element.
 5. Anassembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein some of said terminals aredisposed in the central region of the dielectric element and overly thechip.
 6. An assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein said first leadsextend between the contacts on the chip and the bottom surface of thedielectric element in the central region of the dielectric element. 7.An assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the dielectric element hasconductive vias extending from said bottom surface toward said topsurface and from said top surface towards said bottom surface, saidfirst leads being connected to said terminals by way of said vias.
 8. Anassembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein said dielectric element hashorizontal conductors extending between the central and peripheralregions of the dielectric element, at least some of said terminals beingconnected to said first conductors by way of said horizontal conductorsand said vias.
 9. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein said packageelement includes a metallic heat sink.
 10. An assembly as claimed inclaim 9 further comprising one or ore electrical circuit elementsdisposed between said heat sink and the peripheral region of thedielectric element, said one or more electrical circuit elements beingconnected to said chip.
 11. An assembly as claimed in claim 10 whereinsaid dielectric element has horizontal conductors extending between thecentral and peripheral regions of the dielectric element, at least someof said terminals being connected to said first leads by way of saidhorizontal conductors, said circuit elements being connected to saidchip by way of said horizontal conductors and said first leads.
 12. Anassembly as claimed in claim 11 further comprising second flexible leadsembedded in said compliant layer and extending from said one or morecircuit elements to the peripheral region of the dielectric element andelectrically connected to said horizontal leads, said one or morecircuit elements being connected to the chip by way of said secondleads, horizontal conductors and first leads.
 13. An assembly as claimedin claim 1 wherein said dielectric element is substantially rigid. 14.An assembly as claimed in claim 13 wherein said dielectric elementincludes one or more ceramic materials.
 15. An assembly as claimed inclaim 13 wherein said dielectric element includes a fiber-reinforcedcircuit board.